Trip Report Meet the Floridians

Hello humans!

Most of you know me by now, but for those of you who haven't followed my past TR's (particularly my most recent), I'll do some brief introductions. Feel free to check out my past reports (in my signature) if you'd like!

Who: I'm Brittany! I'm 25 and completely Disney obsessed. My better half is Dylan, also 25 and not quite as Disney obsessed. Prior to meeting me, he had never been to WDW! It was obviously top priority to remedy that.

This is our baby, Tink. She also loves Disney.

We got engaged in Magic Kingdom in June.. my dream come true! Though our wedding won't take place in Disney, it will be Disney themed.

While we were enjoying our time in the World, I accepted a 1st grade teaching position in Osceola County, Florida. Fast forward a month, and we packed up a U-Haul to relocate from Pennsylvania to the Sunshine State!

We currently live 20 minutes from Disney property, and one of our first purchases should come as no surprise. This report will be a collection of our adventures as annual passholders, and I'll update it with a Table of Contents as we go. Now, without further ado...

To all who come to this happy place, welcome!

 

[wishes2013]

I don't know. Without actual proof, how can we be sure that @wishes2013 actually went on Everest??? I think we need actual photographic evidence before we can believe it really happened!!!

It happened again on Sunday
I still don’t enjoy the ride, maybe I’ll get there one day, but I can force myself on it for the sake of others. But really, I should have worked the system a little better and gotten something out of it. Dylan realllyyyy wanted me to ride it

 

[blreinsel]

I don't know. Without actual proof, how can we be sure that @wishes2013 actually went on Everest??? I think we need actual photographic evidence before we can believe it really happened!!!

I like your logic. Gotta get her back on it for evidence!

It happened again on Sunday
I still don’t enjoy the ride, maybe I’ll get there one day, but I can force myself on it for the sake of others. But really, I should have worked the system a little better and gotten something out of it. Dylan realllyyyy wanted me to ride it

You really should have.. I think you could have gotten something good lol.

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, May 25

What time is it? Summer time.. it's our vacation! What time is it? Party time.. that's right, say it loud!
What time is it? The time of our lives.. anticipation! What time is it? Summertime.. school's out scream and shout!

If you don't know this song, we can't be friends.

After a long, difficult year of being 1st year teachers, @wishes2013 and I were ready to celebrate! There's really only one way to celebrate any occasion, and that's Disney. We met some other friends from school at Jock Lindsey's for drinks to kick off summer vacation. My first drink was the Cool Headed Monkey (Starr African Rum, Van Der Hum Tangerine Liqueur, fresh Lime Juice, Watermelon, and Pineapple Juice). It was really good and we briefly considered stealing the cups.

My second drink was the Fountain of Youth (St. Augustine Florida Cane Vodka, Bols Blue Curaçao, White Cranberry Juice, and Sweet-and-Sour) which was equally as good!

We also ordered some food to enjoy with our drinks. I had the Old World Pizza of San Marco and loved it! Soooo cheesy.

@wishes2013 had the Air Pirate's Pretzels - look how cute!

We lucked into the little pod room table (?? lol) in the corner so it was nice to be in our own area. It was less noisy and there weren't people bumping into our chairs as they passed by.. a win in my book. We sat and talked for awhile before finally making our way out. Brooke suggested that we go to MK for some rides and fireworks, so we said goodbye to the others before heading that way. We opted to take a bus to the Contemporary and then walked to MK. It took FOREVER for a bus to come so by the time we got to MK, Happily Ever After had already started. We had a terrible view at the end of Main Street so no pictures.

We headed for Fantasyland after the show and went under the sea with Ariel.

Next up was a first for Brooke... Enchanted Tales with Belle!

We were walking through Fantasyland when an important looking CM approached us and asked how we were enjoying our night. We chatted with him as we walked and he asked if we had gotten to ride everything we wanted to on our trip. I told him that we live here so yes lol. He told us to go enjoy our favorite again and handed us two paper fast passes. What else would we use them on? PS: I just noticed that these say May 31.. I guess they didn't expire that night like most fast passes do?

Since this officially marked the start of summer, it was time for us to enter the Big Thunder contest with @Tuvalu and @Longers. We were told it was unfair for us to compete since we live here, so we decided to only count our rides while we're on summer break.

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, May 25 cont.

After our wild ride in the wilderness, we had just enough time for one more ride. Splash was a walk on so we decided to brave another mountain! Sorry for the blurry picture, but these screens are now throughout the queue giving safety information.

We splashed down and then headed out of the park!

This is where our night took a very, very bad turn. Those of you who follow me on Instagram witnessed our SOS live on my story. We walked to the Disney Springs bus stop, only to find out that busses stop running at 11pm.. we had literally JUST missed it. We decided to take a bus to Saratoga Springs and then boat over to DS. The first problem upon arrival at SS was that we weren't sure which bus stop we needed to get off at. After some Google searches, we determined that the last stop would be best. We got off and then were like... now what? We turned left and 20 minutes later, we were still walking around with no idea where we were going lol. After a good 30-40 minutes of walking around in the dark, we found the boats which were of course no longer running. We kept walking past the dock and across the bridge.. and then I recognized that we were standing on the LBV golf course. We kept going and were finally greeted by a view of DS.. HALLELUJAH! It was quite the ordeal but was certainly a memorable way to kick off our summer. We got to our cars at some point after midnight and finally headed home.

 

[blreinsel]

Monday, May 28

Those of you who have been following @wishes2013's report will have already read about our Memorial Day park hopping extravaganza, but I'll go ahead and include my rendition anyway. For starters, we have a Disney Summer Vacation Bucket List that we intend to complete by the time we go back to school. One of the items on that list was to do all 4 parks in one day since Brooke had never done it. The original plan was to just do Epcot and MK but then turned into a check off the bucket list in the form of doing the most American thing at each park. #merica

We started at HS with Muppetvision to see Sam Eagle and his show stopping finale! Disney is constantly reminding me to always look up.

The man himself!

A few selfies with the patriotic decor in the preshow room.

We decided to go ahead and move on to our next park because HS was PACKED. Up next, Animal Kingdom!

Finding something American at AK was the most difficult, but we came up with Dinoland USA.. I mean, it says USA right in the name. That counts.

 

[blreinsel]

Monday, May 28 cont.

Wait times at AK were also pretty high so we didn't ride anything while we were there. We did, however, discover the CUTEST dinosaurs in all the land!

They were so soft.. I told them I wanted a blanket made out of the same material as their outfits.

They noticed our ears and then we decided that we needed ears that looked like their dino hoods.

SO SCARY.

I was hungry so grabbed some mac and cheese from Flame Tree before moving on to our next park! We started with a picture to mark the occasion.

Our photographer was fun and joked around with us while he snapped away. We were intrigued when he set us up for a magic shot.. he was adamant that my hand placement be a certain way. The result?

Lol.. not as exciting as we anticipated but still cute. We made the short walk over to the Honey Bee-Stro where I tried the Honey-Peach Cobbler Freeze.. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I'm SO MAD at myself for not trying this sooner because I totally would have repeated it every time I went to Epcot. Brooke went with her favorite for a second time, the Roasted Cauliflower.

Next, we both got the Tropical Freeze with Cruzan Mango Rum from La Isla Fresca. It was also delicious!

We walked the rest of the way to America and ducked inside to watch the Voices of Liberty, a first for me. How have I not seen them before? They were AMAZING!

 

[blreinsel]

Monday, May 28 cont.

After the show, we continued upstairs to see the American Adventure.. another first for me! I wasn't as enamored with this one as I was with Voices of Liberty.

We started our second tour of WS, stopping off in Mexico for the Tiger Lily Sangria. It was really good but it was super strong! And with that, I had officially finished my festival passport!

We said goodbye to Epcot and made our way over to MK via the monorail! We had parked at the TTC earlier to try and cut down on some travel time.

Surprisingly, MK was the least busy of all of the parks! We stopped for a picture on the way down Main Street.

We had some time before our first American attraction, so we sat on the rocking chairs in Liberty Square to relax and wait.

We lucked into the Paul Revere version of Great Moments in History (but just the American parts), a new one for both of us!

We then headed inside to catch Hall of Presidents.

We had officially finished our American tour of Disney! But we aren't quitters and weren't ready to head home quite yet.

 

[blreinsel]

Monday, May 28 cont.

Haunted Mansion had a short wait so we decided to drop by and visit some spirits.

We were getting hungry and Brooke requested flatbread from Pinocchio Village Haus. After she finished, we went looking for a Pascal hat that she had seen earlier.. we found it in the shop next to Philharmagic but were able to resist buying it. Or were we? Stay tuned.

We started toward Frontierland because we had a FP+ to use, but stopped off along the way so I could get a corndog.

Ride #2!

We had the pleasure of riding with three screaming pre-teens. I mean.... blood curdling SCREAMS. It was all in good fun, but after cresting the first hill I looked at Brooke and said "I'm not sure which sound made my ears hurt more: the train climbing the tracks or the screaming."

While we were in line for Big Thunder, we made the decision to go back and buy the Pascal hats. No regrets. I'm at my photo limit for this post but no fear, the hats will make an appearance in future reports. We decided to pay Mickey a visit since wait times are significantly lower now that he has lost his voice. We basically walked right into a room.

PURE JOY.

He was a fan of our ears.

Not sure what we were laughing at, but this is proof that meeting characters can be just as much fun for adults as it is for kids.

We bid Mickey farewell and went to claim a spot for HEA. Unfortunately, we stood behind a family that found it necessary to video the entire show on all of their devices.

We headed out after the show, but not before stopping to grab a *few* buttons for my wedding.

Today's count: 42
Total count: 79

 

[blreinsel]

Thursday, May 31

After spending the afternoon making DIY ears, @wishes2013 and I were off to MK where we met up with another of her friends and Dylan. It was POURING, but wait times were still surprisingly high. We settled for some people movin'. The ride stopped and the lights came on, but still no luck with checking "evacuate off of a ride" off of our bucket list.

We waited in a longer-than-anticipated line for Dumbo, but we had a good flight!

We decided to get ice cream from The Plaza Ice Cream Parlor to enjoy during fireworks, but our wait was (again) longer than anticipated. Fireworks were starting as we exited the shop and we got the pleasure of being screamed at by CM's while we attempted to find an open spot. I get it, I do. But they could be a little more Disney-esque in their crowd directing.

A check for my personal Disney bucket list! Brooke was laughing at us because I was in complete HEAVEN over this and Dylan was just tolerating it to make me happy.

We didn't have a great view of the projections and some fireworks, but we did have a good view of Tink! Sorry for the terrible picture, but you should know me by now. I was surprised by how much louder the fireworks are standing where we were.

We had a short wait for wild ride #3 of the summer!

We took a boat to find some Pirates before heading out for the night.

No worries, of course we stopped to fill the kitchen sink with buttons.

 

[becca_]

Freakin' L-O-V-E Chip & Dale in those costumes!!! I didn't see them at all when I was in AK last weekend

 

[blreinsel]

Freakin' L-O-V-E Chip & Dale in those costumes!!! I didn't see them at all when I was in AK last weekend

Literally THE CUTEST!! They were kind of hidden.. we had to ask a CM where they were meeting!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, June 1

Brooke is friends with somebody that is friends with Chip in the Beauty and the Beast show at HS and she was kind enough to hook us up with VIP seats for one of her shows! ALL MY DREAMS ARE COMING TRUE.

I was literally NOT okay... I straight up fan girled during every second of the show. Prepare for BATB spam!

The sweetest little teacup there ever was! I want to be friends with Chip!

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, June 1 cont.

More because I can't contain myself. So handsome!

I actually gasped at this point. I am not ashamed.

BEST DAY EVER. I'm still not okay.

 

[blreinsel]

Friday, June 1 cont.

Next up was Voyage of the Little Mermaid.. it's still a cute show but could use some major upgrades. I mean, come on now Disney.

There was more water coming from the ceiling than @wishes2013 and I recalled. I was not amused. On the bright side, Ursula is still pretty awesome.

We planned to see the Frozen show but had some time before it started. We walked through One Man's Dream (or whatever it's called now) to kill some time.

We had my favorite female historian, but Ben had performed in the earlier shows. The male was okay, but he basically just copied everything that Ben does so I couldn't enjoy him all that much lol.

We walked across the park and down Sunset to find some dinner.

We decided on Catalina Eddie's for some pizza.

While we ate, we were discussing all of the upcoming changes to HS and where they'll be in relation to how the park is currently laid out. We decided to walk over to get a better look for ourselves and were greeted by this guy.

This is totally something my dad would do so I thought it was quite amusing. We headed out afterwards, making a pitstop at the Character Warehouse at the outlets where we scored some cool stuff.

 

[blreinsel]

I AM FINALLY CAUGHT UP! That means I can do some live posting from Yacht Club tomorrow! Stay tuned.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Congrats on finishing your first year of teaching! I just completed my 18th school year! We are survivors!

 

[LisaBelle]

Have an awesome time at Yacht Club! Can’t wait to read all about it!

 

[wishes2013]

I’m disappointed that you haven’t been to the parks in almost a week. What a slacker

But so proud that you are all caught up

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Have an amazing time at the Yacht club!!! Also, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL!

 

[Songbird76]

Monday, May 28 cont.

Wait times at AK were also pretty high so we didn't ride anything while we were there. We did, however, discover the CUTEST dinosaurs in all the land!
View attachment 288201

They were so soft.. I told them I wanted a blanket made out of the same material as their outfits.
View attachment 288198

They noticed our ears and then we decided that we needed ears that looked like their dino hoods.
View attachment 288199

View attachment 288200

SO SCARY.
View attachment 288195

I was hungry so grabbed some mac and cheese from Flame Tree before moving on to our next park! We started with a picture to mark the occasion.View attachment 288196

Our photographer was fun and joked around with us while he snapped away. We were intrigued when he set us up for a magic shot.. he was adamant that my hand placement be a certain way. The result?
View attachment 288197

Lol.. not as exciting as we anticipated but still cute. We made the short walk over to the Honey Bee-Stro where I tried the Honey-Peach Cobbler Freeze.. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I'm SO MAD at myself for not trying this sooner because I totally would have repeated it every time I went to Epcot. Brooke went with her favorite for a second time, the Roasted Cauliflower.
View attachment 288202

Next, we both got the Tropical Freeze with Cruzan Mango Rum from La Isla Fresca. It was also delicious!
View attachment 288203

We walked the rest of the way to America and ducked inside to watch the Voices of Liberty, a first for me. How have I not seen them before? They were AMAZING!
View attachment 288204

I'm so surprised you've never seen VoL before!! They are amazing. My daughter and I spent an entire afternoon watching them one day on our last trip. The woman all the way to the left, Elodie, was so so nice to us! I would LOVE to sing with them. I'm glad you finally experienced the wonder that is the Voices of Liberty! They also perform outside the parks sometimes and there's a group called Voctave made up of former and current VoL members. They have some pretty amazing renditions of songs from the Disney movies, etc.